Green Media
VIDEO: The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water
Volunteer activists from the Surfrider 
Foundation collaborated to produce "The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water,"
an excellent short video that exposes the dangers of current water
management practices and offers simple common sense solutions to
sustainably managing this precious resource. The video was released in
March 2010 on World Water Day with the hope that a clear explanation of
the problems we face will spur action toward wise stewardship.
According
to the producers, the video is appropriate for kids as young as 6, but
we think it will have a greater impact on kids from middle school up.
It explains how dwindling clean water resources are currently managed,
what the effects are on society and the environment, and "explores what
the ideal water management system would look like, with localized water
treatment plants and neighborhoods and cities that incorporate native
plant life and filtration systems." Wise water stewardship could reduce
polluting run-off, encourage water re-use, defend against the dangers
of storms, and enhance the beauty and quality of life of communities.
See a 2-minute trailer at: http://vimeo.com/9838297
Watch the 20-minute video at: http://www.knowyourh2o.org/index.php
Learn more about the Surfrider Foundation
BOOK REVIEW: Grow Your Own Tree Hugger - 101 Activities to Teach Your Child How to Live Green 
I sat down to peruse Grow Your Own Tree Hugger wondering if I might find a motivating and enlightening weekend or summer project to do with my 10 year-old, and found not only stimulating and creative projects, but also all kinds of interesting information and useful resources. As I looked through this ample tome, printed on 100% recycled paper, I appreciated the positive tone and optimistic spirit of the author, Wendy Rosenoff. In the Dedication, she encourages readers to "make your mark as caretakers of this earth, and not just takers," and to help kids "make sustainable choices as second nature as brushing teeth."
This is a fun and creative volume with projects that cover many interwoven subjects: science, growing and cooking food, alternative energy, sustainable living (go plastic-free for a day!), chemical free crafts (make natural pigments from coffee, curry, and spinach), natural resources, endangered species, and the many R's (reduce, reuse, recycle, re-purpose, rethink, etc.). Each project is illustrated with a great photo, and has a "Chat Point" that further illuminates an aspect of the project, a "Mini-Chat Point" aimed at younger kids, and an "Above and Beyond" section that guides readers to further resources, ideas, and actions, many of which I had not seen before. Supplies to do most projects are things that most of us have kicking around in household drawers, closets, or basements.
I was not completely at ease with the author's occasional promotion of specific products, especially when those products come in disposable packages, like a natural, low-sugar children's drink pouch. The author finds a clever way to re-use the drink pouches, but I'd rather be encouraged to brew my own healthy children's drinks and serve them in reusable containers.
Some Grow Your Own Tree Hugger projects are more compelling than others, and a few just made me scratch my head. However, the interesting and inspiring projects far outweigh the head-scratchers, and this is a great book for teachers, scout leaders, parents, and others involved in growing our future's green citizens.
Order Grow Your Own Tree Hugger ($14.99 on Amazon)
BOOK REVIEW: Smart by Nature, Schooling for Sustainability
In Smart by Nature, Schooling for Sustainability, Michael Stone illustrates that schooling for sustainability can start anywhere, with anyone. The book highlights healthy school food, green campuses, learning in community, and green curricula, with stories from schools that are at the forefront of greening, along with ample resources for those who are just getting started.
Smart by Nature contains great school profiles that pull the reader right into the rich discoveries and accomplishments of school communities as they create green buildings that teach, develop a farm-to-school salad bar lunch program, or -- and this one gets kind of messy -- create a waste treatment system that uses natural ecosystem processes. The profiles illustrate that sustainability education is grounded in
place, is practical, promotes teamwork, and focuses on the complex
relationships inherent in communities and ecosystems. Dotted throughout the book on bright yellow pages are succinct "Lessons Learned" and examples of "What You Can Do."
And many schools profiled don't stop at reducing damage to the environment, but rather aspire to the vision of the Regenerative Design Institute, discussed in Chapter 3: "Our design practices not only need to do no harm, they must initiate regenerative processes to replace the degeneration resulting from past practices. We envision humans as a positive, healing presence on earth, creating more abundance on earth than would be possible without them."
This is a far cry from the author's own school experience in a southern California suburban school -- his education rarely took him outside the four walls of his classroom. His hope is that parents, educators, and anyone interested in bringing an ecological consciousness to students will read Smart by Nature and discover how they can transform their own school communities.
To order Smart by Nature, go to http://www.ecoliteracy.org/publications/smart-by-nature-book.html
BOOKS: Sally Ride Science
In 2001 Dr. Sally Ride, America’s first woman in space, founded a company to create “programs and products that educate, entertain, engage and inspire.” We think these books, aimed at teaching the next generation about the science and solutions for global climate change, might be of interest to you and your students. Take a look:
Mission: Save the Planet (age 9 and up)
Earth's Precious Resources (age 9 and up): Living Green
BOOK REVIEW: Heroes of the Environment
Heroes of the Environment: True Stories ofPeople Who Are Helping to Protect the Planet, presents the inspiring true
stories of 12 people from across North America who have done great
things for the environment. Photographs and
illustrations bring each compelling story vividly to life. Heroes include:
- a teenage girl who figured
out how to remove an industrial pollutant from the Ohio River,
- a
Mexican superstar wrestler who works to protect turtles and whales, and
- a teenage boy from Rhode Island who helped his community and his state develop effective e-waste recycling programs.
According to one reviewer, "There’s something about hero stories that make us feel hopeful and good about ourselves. Harriet Rohmer’s Heroes of the Environment goes beyond that....Her collection of real people going to bat for the environment shows them doing extraordinary things – like designing an “eco-machine” that could clean up entire watersheds – and yet they come from ordinary backgrounds. The profiles are written in a language accessible for young people, but she doesn’t shy away from technical terms. Ms. Rohmer captures the courage of activists who stand up to corporations, but stresses that it takes a community to make change happen."
TO ORDER: Use Promotion Code "NRDC" at Checkout to get a 30% discount and free shipping. To order click HERE.
VIDEO: The Story of Stuff
The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard, a 20-minute short film, offers a fast-paced,
fact-filled look at the dark underbelly of our materials economy. From materials extraction through production, sale, use and disposal, all the "stuff" in our
lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is
hidden from view.
The Story of Stuff takes a look at our production and consumption patterns, exposes the connections between myriad environmental and social issues, then calls on us to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life.
This
video is for everyone. Show it
in your class. Organize a viewing night. Host an assembly. The website
contains loads of fact sheets, links, resources, and discussion
questions. After watching the video, Take Action to green your school and reduce your consumption of STUFF.
VIDEO: The Grocery Store Wars and The Meatrix
Free Range Studios does it again: these animated videos use humor and veggie versions of familiar movie characters -- like "Cuke Skywalker" and "Darth Tater" -- to examine the costs of factory farming, toxic chemical inputs and genetic engineering and extoll the virtues of organic food.
WEB SHOW: Gorilla in the Greenhouse
“Gorilla in the Greenhouse”
is an action-packed animated web show that encourages kids to take meaningful steps toward a healthier, more sustainable environment. Using video and music, the series features a variety of fun and collaborative activities, and emphasizes that small steps can have a big impact.
The host site, GreenGorilla.com, also offers curricula, a blog, and eco-merchandise.
ONLINE QUIZZES AND GAMES:
Check the Green Schools Initiative Resources page for quizzes to measure your carbon and ecological footprints, measure your waste awareness. Kids may enjoy play Food Force, an online game created by the United Nations World Food Programme. Players must join a team to help save and rebuild a mythical island and feed the hungry.
BOOK REVIEW: Eco-Teens
Generation Green: The Ultimate Teen Guide to Living an Eco-Friendly Life
The title pretty much describes this hip, practical manual, written by Tosh and Linda Sivertsen, a teenage boy and his mom. Tosh’s introduction, describing his upbringing in New Mexico without indoor plumbing, provides a “gross” factor that will appeal to kids and juvenile adults alike. In the first chapter, he lays out his desire to give teens the “basic lowdown on some of the most important issues affecting our planet," followed by examples of innovative solutions people are using to address the issues. He believes that if teens have “the inside scoop on what’s going wrong and what it’ll take to turn it around, [they]’ll be more pumped about trying some of the suggestions to come” throughout the book. Tosh shared his message in person with thousands of enthusiastic green teens when he spoke at the 2008 Environmental Youth Conference.
Tosh knows that
green choices take some effort: “We all want comfort. We all want to
fit in. In truth, we’re all a little spoiled—at least in my
generation.” Nevertheless, he goes on in Chapter 9, “A Day in the
Life,” to walk the reader through how a typical teenager might go
through his/her day, then rewinds, and demonstrates how a few simple
changes could reduce that teen’s footprint. Take a look at: Generation Green.
BOOK REVIEW: Climate Change Science and Solutions
Lynne Cherry, a renowned children's author, worked with award-winning photojournalist Gary Braasch to create a "non-scary" book about climate change science and solutions for grades 4-8 called, How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming.
Reviewers are calling the book "beautiful," "informative," and "empowering." The National Science Teachers Association calls it "amazing," and notes that "Students and teachers can participate in brainstorming, experiments, water monitoring, or class discussions that might lead to student activism to improve our environment.…By presenting real-life accounts of scientists and their work, Lynne Cherry helps students connect with environmental problems and actions by becoming active decision makers."
The Teacher's Guide offers activities and lessons geared to 5th-8th grade science standards. Use the link below to look at the "Resources" section and find free downloadable activities.
Teacher's Guide Resources and Activities
AUDIO TOOL: "A Musical Celebration of Nature's Genius"
The Biomimicry Institute has introduced an educational CD - "Ask the Planet" - with music and lyrics designed to reconnect children to nature, create a sense of awe for the environment and teach them about the concept of biomimicry.
What is biomimicry? It's a discipline focused on developing sustainable technologies inspired by ideas from Nature to solve human problems. Nature has devised ingenious solutions for myriad problems, and so can people. For example, if a paint company seeks a way to create a washable wall paint, the company might turn to research that shows what structures or processes in a leaf's surface work to repel water, dirt, and other substances - without harsh chemicals.
Children need positive solutions and realistic tools like biomimicry to address the environmental challenges they will face as they grow up. This album just might help inspire them to make a difference.
The CD costs $14.98, plus shipping and handling. The Biomimicry Institute also offers free teaching guides that are directly linked to each song on the Ask the Planet CD.
BOOK REVIEW: The Green Parent
Contemplating the earth's environmental future can sometimes make a parent blue. Now parents can shake the blues with Jenn Savedge's The Green Parent: A Kid-Friendly Guide to Earth-Friendly Living. The book helps parents find easy ways to go green while raising a family with resources for: getting kids involved in ecology; saving energy; reducing, reusing and recycling; and earth-friendly products and services. It includes fun activities to show kids how to make small changes - and make a big difference.
Leslie Garrett, author of The Virtuous Consumer, says, "The Green Parent…guides us through how to live "green" and pass that love and respect for the earth on to our children…Savedge writes with an infectious optimism that motivates us to change our ways and change the world in the process." The Green Parent is printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper and processed chlorine-free.
For every book sold, the publisher, Kedzie Press, will plant a tree as part of their "Million Tree-A-Thon" effort to plant one million trees by December, 2009! The Green Parent is available at www.kedziepress.com. Hurry!
BOOK REVIEW: Lunch Lessons
Chef Ann Cooper is a self-styled "renegade lunch lady" who currently directs the nutrition services for the Berkeley Unified School District, improving meals at 16 public schools with over 9,000 students one day at a time. Her newest book, Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children (Harper Collins, Sept. 2006), is "overflowing with strategies for parents and school administrators to become engaged with issues around school food - from public policy to corporate interest. It includes successful case studies of school food reform, resources that can help make a difference and healthy, kid-friendly recipes that can be made at home, or by the thousands for a public school cafeteria", as described on its website.
She's at the forefront of the movement to reorient the National School Lunch Program toward greater emphasis on regional, organic, fresh foods, and nutritional education to help students build a connection between their health and where their food comes from. On her website, www.lunchlessons.org, Chef Ann publishes a monthly calendar of what Berkeley schools will be serving every day, which reads more like the menu at the famous Chez Panisse restaurant. One month's menu featured such delectables as a "citrus-jicama stuffed lettuce leaf salad" and "rotini with fresh tomato." Even plain old Hot Dog Tuesday features the grass-fed variety or veggie dog option swathed in whole grain bun and a side of roasted veggie fries. Yum!
You can read more about Chef Ann's mission or buy Lunch Lessons at:
Lunch Lessons.
BOOK REVIEW: Gaia Girls
We recommend Lee Welles' Enter the Earth, the first in a planned seven-book series aimed at kids nine and up called Gaia Girls (published by Chelsea Green, 2006). Treehugger.com describes it thus: "Following in the vein of Nancy Drew, the Babysitters Club, and, dare I say it, Harry Potter, the 'Gaia Girls' series is the next group to offer heroes battling modern day villains for the kid with an eco-conscience."
The series features four girls, each endowed with magical powers over one of the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. All are approached for help by Gaia, the living organism of Earth, and must learn to use their powers to save the planet from the destructive forces of modern humanity. Author Lee Welles presents her young heroines with very real environmental and social justice problems (in Enter the Earth, the main character Elisabeth must combat a factory farm threatening to overcome her rural town), but frames them in an imaginative and spellbinding way that kids will love. The series can be a fantastic point of entry for engaging kids in real-world environmental issues while promoting a sense of wonder about Nature.
The first volume, Enter the Earth, can be purchased in hardcover with 38 lovely illustrations at Chelsea Green/Enter the Earth.